Article from Human Rights Watch by Yulia Gorbunova:

According to Russian authorities, men in Russia are more likely to suffer from discrimination in domestic violence cases – an outrageous claim that flies in the face of the facts.

The dubious statement is part of Russia’s official response to questions posed by the European Court of Human Rights relating to four domestic violence cases filed against Russia. One of the four women who sought redress from the European court is Margarita Gracheva, whose husband chopped off her hands with an ax. As is often the case in Russia, weeks before this happened, a police officer dismissed Gracheva’s complaint about her husband’s routine threats as a private matter.

In their submission, Russia said men are more likely to be discriminated against because there are fewer male victims and because men “aren’t expected to seek protection,” especially if the perpetrator is female. The authorities also had the audacity to claim the applicants are “undermining” efforts to address domestic violence.

Read the full text here.